Saying Thank You to Our Military

By Nora Duncan

This year, Veteran’s Day is officially November 11; however, AARP has launched several month-long initiatives in recognition of – and to say thank you to – our veterans and current military personnel. We encourage our community members to visit aarp.org/veterans for related news and informational content about our veterans as well as more details on AARP’s support and activities.

Specially Priced Offers for Veterans
Membership: AARP is proud to extend a very special offer of up to 25 percent off member benefits for the men and women of the United States Armed Forces who are 50+ years of age. Only AARP Members have access to the savings and discounts that come with an AARP Membership. Activate a membership today and join fellow Active Duty, Military Retiree, Veteran, National Guard and Reservists, as well as spouses, in this very special, and exclusive offer. Visit www.aarp.org/thankavet for more information.

Driver Safety: AARP is offering veterans 30 percent off the regular price of the award-winning Smart Driver online course. Veterans can register for the course at www.aarpdriversafety.org and use promo code VET2017. The offer for this online course is valid until November 30, 2017.

25 Days of Honoring Heroes contest

As part of our Create the Good initiative, AARP is holding a 25 Days of Honoring Heroes contest that encourages people to nominate veterans, families of veterans or volunteers dedicated to veterans’ causes for recognition. To enter, people can submit a video (one minute or less) or a photo with a short essay statement accompanied with a description of the nominee, his or her service and why it deserves recognition. The deadline to nominate a candidate is November 25.

A selection committee will choose 25 finalists from the submissions to be posted on a web site. The public will then have the opportunity to vote for their favorite with the top three video submissions receiving $1,000 each and the top four photo/essay entries receiving $750 each.

Many people may not realize it, but according to a recent AARP study, one in three investment fraud victims in America today is a military veteran. Because of this, The AARP Fraud Watch Network is working with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to raise awareness of common scams that target America’s military veterans by launching the Operation Protect Veterans web site at www.aarp.org/protectveterans. Our goal is to engage thousands of people to watch for suspicious solicitations that target our military veterans. We encourage people to help raise awareness by sharing this program within their communities, because responses will be used to build tools and resources to protect veterans from the latest scams. Some examples of veteran scams include suspicious emails, phone calls or traditional mail that target veterans. Community members can report scams targeting veterans by emailing protectveterans@aarp.org or calling 855-800-9023 (toll-free).